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Anglican Church Policy, Eighteenth Century Conflict, and the American Episcopate

by Kenneth R. Elliott (Author)
©2011 Monographs VIII, 227 Pages
Series: American University Studies , Volume 315

Summary

Anglican Church Policy, Eighteenth Century Conflict, and the American Episcopate examines how leaders in the Church of England sought to reorganize the colonial church by installing one or two resident bishops at critical moments in the late 1740s, the early 1760s, and the mid 1770s when the British government moved to bring the colonies into closer economic and political alignment with England. Examining Anglican attempts to install bishops into the American colonies within the context of the Anglo-American world provides insight into the difficulties British political and ecclesiastical authorities had in organizing the management of the colonies more efficiently. Although the Church of England sustained wide influence over the population, the failure of the Anglicans’ proposal to install bishops into the colonies was symptomatic of the declining influence of the Church on eighteenth century politics. Differing views over political and ecclesiastical authority between the colonists and the Anglicans, and the possibility religious conflict might have on elections, concerned British authorities enough not to act on the Anglicans’ proposals for resident bishops for the colonies. The failure also highlights how eighteenth century British government increasingly focused on the political and economic administration of the expanded British Empire rather than its religious administration.

Details

Pages
VIII, 227
Year
2011
ISBN (PDF)
9781453907948
ISBN (Hardcover)
9781433114311
DOI
10.3726/978-1-4539-0794-8
Language
English
Publication date
2012 (February)
Keywords
Church of England-History-18th century Sherlock Thomas Mayhew Jonathan Church of England-United States-Government
Published
New York, Bern, Berlin, Bruxelles, Frankfurt am Main, Oxford, Wien, 2011. VIII, 227 pp.

Biographical notes

Kenneth R. Elliott (Author)

Kenneth R. Elliott is the Library Director of Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, Mississippi. His undergraduate degree from Belhaven University in Classics gave him the opportunity to read widely from both Greek and Latin sources especially in ecclesiastical history. He received his M.L.S. from the University of South Florida, his M.Div. from Reformed Theological Seminary, and his PhD in British history from Mississippi State University.

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Title: Anglican Church Policy, Eighteenth Century Conflict, and the American Episcopate